Last suspect involved in armed robbery pleads guilty

by Audrie PalmerMidland Reporter-Telegram

Published 7:00 pm, Monday, September 28, 2009

The last suspect of an armed robbery outside a popular burger joint last year that left one woman with a head injury has pleaded guilty and will serve five years in a state jail for her involvement in the crime.

Tiffany Lachelle Murphy, 19, of Midland entered a guilty plea Thursday in the 385th Judicial District Court for helping two male friends hold up two women at gunpoint outside of Bob's Better Burgers on Dec. 12 after the business had closed.

According to police, the suspects waited for the business to close around midnight and approached the women in the parking lot near Wall Street and Thomason Drive; one woman was the owner of the restaurant, the other was an employee.

The men grabbed the business' bank bag from one of the victims and stole a victim's purse.

One of the women was struck in the head with a pistol; the other was held up at gunpoint, police said. The women who suffered the head injury was treated and released from Midland Memorial Hospital within a few days after the incident.

The two males involved — Caleb Tanner Cummins, 21, and Justin Lewis Way, 18 — pleaded out earlier after being indicted by a grand jury on Feb. 5 and held each on a $100,000 bond.

Cummins received a 10-year prison sentence after accepting a guilty plea on May 5 for robbery. Way also received 10 years on Aug. 13 for a charge of aggravated robbery.

The amount of money the three stole from the women was estimated to be more than $1,500 — making it a felony crime.

A volunteer forensic diving team was brought in from the Metroplex on July 11 to comb Beal Park pond were the suspects had told authorities they had disposed of the pistol. After an almost 12-hour search, the investigation was brought to a halt before the weapon was found after one of the volunteers suffered a medical condition unrelated to the day's activities.

Prosecutors with the Midland County District Attorney's Office chose not to have the team return to find the weapon after guilty pleas were accepted by the court.